Superstitions And Unusual Traditions Around the World

1) Polterabend

Polterabend is a German pre-wedding tradition where friends and family come together for an informal party. While that may not seem odd, what they do at these parties certainly is. They break dishes, flowerpots, tiles, toilets, pretty much anything except glasses or mirrors. To symbolize working together through future difficulties, the bride and groom must clean everything up. Due to the need to replace all the broken goods, I suspect that German sellers of housewares are quite fond of this custom.

*Symbolic, but does this really work? Well, symbolism is part of humanity.

2) Monkey Buffet Festiva

No! This isn’t a festival that offers a variety of all-you-can-eat monkey dishes. Rather, the monkeys are the ones doing the feasting at this annual event in Thailand. Over 3,000 kilograms of fruit and vegetables are offered to the monkey population of the Lopburi province in Bangkok.

*What's the essence? I hope they do not have hungry citizens.

3) Gurning

A “gurn” is a distorted facial expression, and English rural tradition has celebrated making these humorous grimaces since 1267. At the World Gurning Championship in Egremont, England, competitors don a horse collar and attempt to make the most grotesque face possible. While this tradition sounds silly, some, like four-time world champion Peter Jackman, take it very seriously. He had his teeth removed in 2000 to make his facial maneuvers easier.

*Remove a tooth?! How far some people can go to make a name for themselves.

4) Blackening the Bride

To prepare for their marriage, Scottish brides-to-be must go through a very foul pre-wedding ritual. Friends of the bride take her by surprise and cover her with eggs, spoiled milk, feathers, pretty much anything disgusting. The blackened bride is then paraded around town. The purpose of this custom is to prepare the bride for marriage because after going through that, any marital problems will seem like nothing.

*That is teaching the woman to cope with difficulties in her home when they arise, and not to run away from them. Hmm, interesting.

5) Day of the Geese

The Day of the Geese, or Antzar Eguna, is a Spanish tradition in which a greased goose is suspended over water and young men jump from boats and attempt to rip off the head of the goose. This competition serves as a way for young men to prove their strength and eligibility to females. In addition to winning the adoration of young women, the winners also gets to keep the goose. Although this tradition was once practiced all over Spain with live geese, this competition is now only held during the San Antolin festival in Lekeitio, with a dead goose to placate animal rights activists.

*Just like the African wrestling match to win the king's daughter. lol

6) Food Binding

For about a thousand years, young Chinese girls had to undergo the painful and debilitating process of foot binding. To ensure small, desirable feet, girls between the ages of three and fourteen had their feet broken and bound with bandages, in order to prevent their feet from growing “too big”. Despite many attempts to ban this ritual, an effective prohibition of foot binding was not was not enacted until 1949, when the Communists took power of China.

*Did you say "feet broken"? What extremity?! In the name of what? What is the essence of small feet? I still can't understand this. May be u can.

7) Finger Cutting

While most cultures mourn the loss of family members, women of the Dani tribe in Indonesia must suffer great physical pain in addition to emotional pain. When a family member dies, female relatives must cut off a segment of one of their fingers. This practice is performed to satisfy ancestral ghosts. Luckily for the Dani women, this custom is rarely practiced anymore.

*Now this is barbaric! You mean this person already has four dead relatives. You better run for your life!

8) Bathroom Ban

The Tidong are a group of people from northern Borneo with a particularly uncomfortable wedding custom. For the 3 days and 3 nights following the wedding, both the bride and groom are prohibited from using the bathroom. That means no urinating, no defecating, and no bathing. They believe that custom will lead to a long, happy, and fertile marriage. In order to achieve this, the newlyweds are allowed to eat and drink only very small amounts and are watched very closely by family members.

*Hehehe... I can't laugh. They should have turned to a three day fast. Perhaps that would be more beneficial.

Here are some other wedding traditions and superstitions:
Good Luck and Bad Luck
1. Hey, brides, tuck a sugar cube into your glove -- according to Greek culture, the sugar will sweeten your union.
2. The English believe a spider found in a wedding dress means good luck. Yikes!
3. In English tradition, Wednesday is considered the "best day" to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health.
4. The groom carries the bride across the threshold to bravely protect her from evil spirits lurking below.
5. Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day, according to English folklore. Funny -- it's the most popular day of the week to marry!
6. Ancient Romans studied pig entrails to determine the luckiest time to marry.
7. Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition!
8. For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day. Ouch!
9. Middle Eastern brides paint henna on their hands and feet to protect themselves from the evil eye.
10. Peas are thrown at Czech newlyweds instead of rice.
11. A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure that she'll never do without.
12. A Finnish bride traditionally went door-to-door collecting gifts in a pillowcase, accompanied by an older married man who represented long marriage.
13. Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony.
14. In Holland, a pine tree is planted outside the newlyweds' home as a symbol of fertility and luck.


Permit me to say this in broken English; "Human beings get wahala sha"